Anti-theft device for personal or collective articles used particularly on the beach

ABSTRACT

An anti-theft device having a thin element configured like a flexible material sheet which can be extended flat on the ground and a plurality of flexible ties which are attached to the periphery of the element and to a unique junction part fixed to the article to be protected against theft. The thin element is covered with a ballast-forming sand layer. Any traction exerted on the protected article will result in the back-folding of the element around the ballast by the tightening of the sides of the element so as to form a burden opposing the traction effort exerted on the article to be protected.

THE TECHNICAL FIELD

The instant invention teaches an anti-theft device for personal orcollective articles to be used at the beach or other leisure venue, orlikewise at places of work, such as construction sites.

BACKGROUND ART

As a means of protecting articles used at the beach against theft, onecould attach the articles to a stake with radiating spokes driven intothe sand to an adequate depth. This type of implement, by opposing animportant resistance to any traction exerted on the protected article,effectively deters theft. However, the downside to such an implement isthat it is cumbersome and relatively heavy which makes transport andstorage in a traditional beach bag, for instance, rather inconvenient.

The instant invention seeks to resolve the aforementioned problems byproposing an anti-theft device that is particularly light, flexible anddevised so as to form a ballast opposing an important resistance to atraction effort exerted on the article to be protected.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

To that end, the anti-theft device according to the instant inventionfor personal or collective articles used at the beach or other leisurevenue, or likewise at places of work, essentially distinguishes itselfin that it is comprised of a thin element configured like a sheet in apolygonal, circular or curvilinear shape, of a flexible material, whichmay be extended flat on the ground, and of a plurality of flexible tieswhich are attached on the one hand to the periphery of the element and,on the other hand, to a unique junction part fixed to the article to beprotected against theft, such that, the thin element having beenextended flat on the beach and covered by a ballast-forming layer ofsand, any traction exerted on the article to be protected will result inthe back-folding of the element around the ballast by the tightening ofthe sides of the element so as to form a burden opposing an importantresistance to the traction effort exerted on the article to beprotected.

The thin element is preferably comprised of a piece of fabric whichgives it considerable lightness and allows it to be flexible under aweak mass. With such an element, the anti-theft device is suited for useon a sandy beach. For use on a pebbly beach or a gravel beach, theinvention according to another embodiment provides for a flexibleelement comprised of a fine-mesh net.

According to another characteristic of the invention, the flexible tiesare attached along premade receptacles fixed on the peripheral border ofthe flexible element, said ties being hemmed into their respectivereceptacles and each one among them being here and there attached alsoto the junction piece.

Other advantages, goals and characteristics of the instant inventionwill become evident with the reading of the description of a preferredembodiment given by way of example therefore, referring to the attacheddrawings of which:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a view from above of the device according to the invention,

FIG. 2 is a close-up view of one of the slides according to anotherembodiment

FIG. 3 is a cross-section view showing a device according to theinvention equipped with a ballast comprised of a layer of sand,

FIG. 4 is a view of the device in configuration of resistance against atraction effort exerted on the article to be protected against theft,

FIG. 5 shows a junction piece according to another embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In FIG. 1, an anti-theft device according to the invention is showncomprised of a thin, flexible element (1), made either of fabric or of afine-mesh net, and of a plurality of flexible ties (2), such as strings,attached on the one hand to the peripheral border of the flexibleelement and, on the other hand, to a unique junction part (3), fixed tothe article (4) to be protected against thefts which could be a beachbag, a cooler, and, more generally, any sort of ordinary object usableat the beach or other leisure venue, or likewise at a place of work.

The flexible element (1) is preferably of a polygonal shape, for exampleeither square or rectangular, but in variation, the shape of the element(1) could be circular or curvilinear. Its surface area would be, forexample, approximately one square meter.

The flexible element (1) will be made of a synthetic material of finedensity and of high mechanical resistance, possessing additionally agood resistance against the corrosive power of salt. More precisely, anymaterial used in the textile industry which meets the aforementionedcriteria could be used.

The flexible ties (2), preferably of equal length, can be firmlyattached to the peripheral border of the element (1) by stitching orother appropriate means, but according to a preferred embodiment, theyare attached along premade receptacles (5) fixed along the peripheralborder of the flexible element (1) into which they are hemmed. As can beseen in FIG. 1, each tie (2) passes right through its receptacle (5) andforms two strings at the exterior of each receptacle by the ends ofwhich it is attached to the junction piece (3).

The receptacles (5) each extend along one portion of the periphery ofthe element (1) and are attached to said element and, when said elementis in the shape of a polygon, said receptacles extend respectively alongthe sides of the element as can be seen in FIG. 1.

According to a first embodiment, each receptacle (5) is comprised of asheath formed in the manner of a hem, in other words, by first doublingback upon itself the corresponding border of the element (1) and then bycreating a longitudinal seam.

According to a second embodiment, as can be seen in FIG. 2, eachreceptacle is formed by multiple loops, each one comprised of a band ofmaterial sewn to piece (1) or otherwise by rings also sewn to saidpiece. According to these two embodiments, the loops constituting thereceptacle each extend perpendicularly along the corresponding side.

The junction piece (3) can be in the form of a solid ring to which areattached one by one, by knotting or other means, the ends of the stringsof each tie. In variation, the ends of each string can be directlyattached to the junction piece. According to yet another variation ofexecution, one could have the flexible ties all be formed from onecontinuous cord passed through each receptacle and between twosuccessive slides in ring (3).

The junction piece (3) is bound by any means known in the art to thearticle (4) to be protected against thefts. For example, one could use ametal cable firmly attached by one of its two extremities to thejunction piece (3). By its other extremity, this cable would be attachedto a padlock, for instance, to which would be attached the article to beprotected against thefts.

We have just described a junction piece which is independent of thearticle to be protected against thefts, however according to avariation, one could envision a junction piece comprised of an elementof the article to be protected against thefts. Thus, merely by way ofexample, such as the one illustrated in FIG. 5, the article to beprotected against thefts is a beach bag and the junction piece iscomprised of the base of the bag pierced by several orifices into whichare attached the different strings of the flexible ties.

Now to explain the implementation and functioning of the deviceaccording to the invention.

The element (1) is first spread out on the beach, the flexible ties (2)and the junction piece (3) being laid out on top. Next, the element (1)is fully covered by a layer of sand and the junction piece is attachedto the article to be protected against thefts (FIG. 3). The device soballasted is now ready to serve its function as shown in FIG. 4. In thisFigure, it is apparent that a traction effort exerted on the protectedarticle results in the back-folding of the flexible element (1) aroundthe ballast by the tightening of the sides of the element (1) whichresults in the enclosure of the mass of sand comprising the ballast orthe majority thereof within the sack thusly formed. Due to the mass ofsand, the device effectively deters theft of the article. It isimportant to note that, given the surface area of the flexible element,which is approximately one square meter, a layer of sand ofapproximately one centimeter will prove sufficient.

The device according to the invention is flexible under a weak mass suchthat it can be easily transported in a beach bag for example.

Finally, it is important to note that the flexible element (1) isachieved by weaving together fibers of a synthetic material, such as forinstance fibers of "Nylon(TM)", of "KEVLAR(TM)".

What is claimed is:
 1. An anti-theft device comprising:an article to be protected against theft, said article having a junction piece attached thereto; a flexible sheet which is capable of laying flat on the ground, said sheet having a plurality of receptacles extending along peripheral edges of said sheet; a plurality of flexible ties respectively extending freely through said plurality of receptacles, each of said plurality of flexible ties having opposite ends affixed to said junction piece, said plurality of flexible ties being affixed to said flexible sheet and to said junction piece such that when the flexible sheet is laid flat and covered by a ballast-forming sand layer, any traction exerted on the article results in a collapsing of the flexible sheet around the sand layer by a tightening of the peripheral edges of said flexible sheet.
 2. The device according to claim 1 wherein the flexible sheet is a piece of fabric.
 3. The device according to claim 1 wherein flexible element is a net.
 4. The device according to claim 2 wherein each of said plurality of receptacles is comprised of a sheath.
 5. The device according to claim 2 wherein each of said plurality of receptacles is formed by multiple loops.
 6. The device according to claim 5 wherein each loop therefor is comprised by a ring attached to the flexible sheet.
 7. The device according to claim 1 wherein the junction piece is a ring.
 8. The device according to claim 1 wherein the junction piece is an element of the article to be protected against thefts.
 9. The device according to claim 1 wherein the flexible element is in the shape of a polygon. 